Cadillac->ke18 may have been doing a much better job of competing with the big German luxury brands in recent years, but the biggest push to shift the brand into a more European-dominated segment is yet to come. A total of eight more new models will be hitting showrooms by the end of the decade, with five of those aimed at entirely new segments. Many of these will wear V badges, although it isn't entirely clear which or even how many. This is good news, because although the V badge has been around since 2004, it only recently found its way onto a second model with the debut of the 2016 ATS-V.

There is a good chance that this means Cadillac plans to make V into a proper performance division, in the way that every single one of the German companies that it competes with have done. These divisions have grown quite a bit with the Germans in recent years, and with Cadillac relatively late to the game, there will be a lot of catching up to do.

Continue reading to learn more about Cadillac's future V-Series lineup.

Why it matters

Part of the challenge will simply be to determine which models should get the treatment. For example, Cadillac has apparently already decided against a V version of the Escalade->ke245 or SRX,->ke1735 even though BMW->ke178 and Mercedes->ke187 both offer performance SUVs. But the Escalade is a different sort of thing, and with it still being so profitable for Cadillac, the reluctance to change it is understandable. But the big question is whether or not there will be a CT6-V, and this is apparently a major source of disagreement within Cadillac. BMW has no M version of the 7-Series,->ke323 while Mercedes does have an AMG->ke8 S-Class.->ke359 Audi->ke14 is building an RS8,->ke4366 but held out for a long time without one. Performance versions of big flagship models are a tricky thing, and Cadillac is venturing into some fairly uncharted waters even without taking this risk. That said, there will be new crossovers in the mix by the end of the decade, and any or all of these might be designed with the possibility of a V version in mind.

The question of hybridization has also been raised, with performance hybrid technology expected to start trickling down from exotic hypercars->ke177 to the mainstream in the coming years. It's unlikely that there will be any V hybrids->ke147 anytime in the near future, but with the different approaches already taken to the CTS-V and ATS-V powerplants, Cadillac has certainly shown a willingness to be flexible with the idea of what powers its cars. Whatever route Cadillac ends up taking, it's all very exciting, and we're eager to see what will be offered.

2016 Cadillac ATS-V Sedan

Read our full review here.